'Tragic and disappointing': 17 deaths recorded in Christmas holiday road toll

Wednesday, 5 January 2022

Residents on St Aubyn St were awoken shortly before 5am when a man was thrown out of his utility vehicle and died at the scene of the crash in New Plymouth on New Year’s Day.

At least one person died on New Zealand’s roads for every day during the Christmas holiday period, a road toll which police described as “tragic and disappointing”.

The official road toll for the period from 4pm on December 24 to 6am on Wednesday was 17, police said.

On average, one person is killed every day on New Zealand’s roads, while another seven are seriously injured, Mobility and Safety Te Manatū Waka manager Robert Anderson said.

“It is time we stopped accepting that a certain amount of death and serious injury is just the price we all pay for moving around,” he said.

The provisional holiday road toll figures are an increase from the 11 deaths on the same period last year.

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Several of the crashes involved young people, including a 13-year-old killed in Waikato.

Police praised the efforts of those who went to the aid of five children in the wake of a late-night crash in Waikato.

It was “absolutely horrendous” that whānau and friends were having to plan tangi and funerals over the holiday period, police assistant commissioner Bruce O’Brien said.

“It’s extremely tragic and disappointing that we’ve seen 17 people lose their lives, for not only those who have lost their lives but their families.”

While the recent fatal crashes remain under investigation, he said police were still seeing the same causes behind them – people not wearing seatbelts, drivers using phones and speeding, and driving after drinking or taking drugs.

“It is really disappointing that unfortunately the message is still not getting through to some drivers around those basic rules – basic things to keep themselves and passengers safe,” he said.

“Just little changes in behaviour can have a significant impact on the amount of people who are getting hurt and killed on our roads.”

While officers will continue to police the roads, responsibility for keeping themselves and others safe ultimately fell to drivers, he said.

“We need you to do your part too.”

On Christmas Eve, just hours after the holiday period began, one person was killed in a two-car crash that injured five others south of Taupō.

A motorcyclist died in Hamilton on Christmas Day morning, while another died after a truck and car collided in Waihola, just south of Dunedin.

Christchurch panel beater Johnny Rolton was driving to Christchurch from Nelson in the early hours of Boxing Day when he came across a truck that plummeted about 10 metres down a bank on the Lewis Pass.

About 10.30pm on Christmas Day evening, a pedestrian was hit and killed by a car in New Windsor, Auckland.

On Boxing Day, Rangiora man John Osborne, 62, was killed after his truck plummeted down a bank in Canterbury's Lewis Pass in the early hours.

The next day, a motorcyclist died in a crash involving three cars in Huntly, Waikato.

On December 29, a person died following a three-car crash in Northland, which also left another person in a critical condition, two more in serious conditions and five people with minor injuries.

A New Zealand Post staff member died on December 30 after their electric buggy rolled down a bank in Tawa, Wellington.

Sam Kelman, 31, was described as “a beautiful soul” by family members who posted on social media to pay tribute.

Joshua Wayne Hartner, was struck and killed by a car driven by a person known to him in Omaha, north Auckland.

It was a grim start to the new year, with two road deaths in the North Island in the first few hours of 2022, one in Auckland and the other in central New Plymouth.

Police said a teenager died after being hit by a vehicle in Omaha, north of Auckland.

Auckland Grammar pupil, Joshua Wayne Hartner, 17, was killed in Omaha, after he was hit by a car driven by someone known to him, police said.

About an hour later a man was thrown out of his utility vehicle and died at the scene of the crash in New Plymouth.

Residents on St Aubyn St were awoken shortly before 5am after the late-model utility crashed near the pedestrian crossing near the intersection with Calvert Rd.

The next day there were four more deaths on New Zealand’s roads, bringing the road toll to 14 on Monday – already exceeding the previous year by three.

In the early hours of Sunday, a motorcyclist died after coming off the road in Kaihu, Northland.

In Gisborne, emergency services were called to a fatal single-vehicle crash on Matawai Rd, Waerengaahika about 4.40pm on Sunday.

In Waikato, a person died in a single-vehicle crash on Arapuni Road, Waipa District, on Sunday afternoon.

New Plymouth emergency services attend a fatal crash early on New Year's Day.

That evening, a pedestrian was hit and killed by a car in Tauranga.

Another person was killed, while another injured, in a crash on State Highway 65 in Maruia on Tuesday morning.

Police were making inquiries into the circumstances of the crash on behalf of the coroner.

In the afternoon, a person died after their vehicle crashed into power lines in Taupiri, Waikato.

On Wednesday morning, police confirmed a 13-year-old girl died following a serious single-vehicle crash in Matamata on December 27. She was one of five children, aged 10 to 13, who were in the car when it crashed into a ditch off Morrinsville-Walton Rd in Waikato.

All were helicoptered or taken by ambulance to Waikato Hospital. As of December 30, two children were in a critical condition in hospital, while two others were in a stable condition, and the fifth child discharged.

The scene of the crash involving five children in Waikato had been mostly cleaned up by midday on Tuesday. Most motorists driving past would likely not have noticed it.

Attending a serious crash were “horrific scenes” and were “very, very distressing” for all frontline staff, O’Brien said.

Along with the 17 fatalities, there were a “significant number of people” who were seriously injured over the period who were still recovering in hospital – some of which may be lifelong injuries, he said.

Director of road safety charity Brake, Caroline Perry, said every death on the roads was “a tragedy”.

Working with bereaved and injured families, Perry said staff witnessed the long term impact crashes had.

“It is hard hearing those stories … It’s not just that initial short term impact following the crash, but families are dealing with the consequences of those crashes for years to come.”

Perry said it was important to improve road education, as well as road safety, reduced speed limits, and the safety of vehicles on the roads – many factors which were being considered by police working with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and the Ministry of Transport on the government’s Road to Zero campaign, O’Brien said.

The campaign sets a target of achieving a 40 per cent reduction in deaths and serious injuries by 2030.

A review into the effectiveness and efficiency of investment into road safety, commissioned by Te Manatū Waka, would be released shortly, Anderson said.

It provided recommendations to strengthen future investment in road policing and safety infrastructure treatments, he said.

While the official holiday period was over, O’Brien warned there would still be plenty of traffic on the country’s roads over the summer.

He advised people to watch their speed, follow distances, pay attention to the conditions and stop and take a break if tired.

“If it takes an extra 30 minutes to get to your destination, it’s a really small price to pay,” he said.

He encouraged friends and families to have conversations around road safety as it would take a collective effort to reduce tragedies on the roads.

'We don't want to see any more families impacted by tragedy this summer and we need all road users to play their part in getting everyone home safely.'